Michigan eyed as bellwether for legal pot in Midwest

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan is aiming to build a potentially lucrative industry from the ground up with passage of a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.

It could do more by serving as a model for the rest of the Midwest — and possibly beyond.

Michigan is the first state in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters Tuesday passed a ballot measure Tuesday that will allow people 21 or older to buy and use the drug. North Dakota voters decided against recreational pot. Including Michigan, 10 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana.

Attorney Douglas Mains helped draft bills to amend the state's medical marijuana law passed a decade ago. He says the state is expected to be a bellwether, particularly in neighboring Ohio and nearby Illinois.